When it comes to careers in history, you can rest assured that there is much job security. Once you earn a degree in history, your career options will be wide open. From becoming a librarian to an attorney to establishing yourself as a marketing specialist, there are so many occupational paths for you to travel down. As for now, let’s take a look at the history behind five of the top careers established by those who major in history.
1.) Librarian
The Library Company of Philadelphia was invented by Benjamin Franklin who was born in 1706. This institution was the nation’s first lending library and it owns the claim of being the predecessor to free public libraries. A library is most commonly known for being a place — either a physical location or a virtual space — that collects and sends out information for people to access. The term library itself comes from Latin origin “liber” which means book. The very first library dates back to the ancient era and is commonly referred to as The Royal Library of Alexandria. It was founded in Alexandria, Egypt. This library was dedicated to the nine goddesses of arts, the Muses. Ever since the first library there has been a need for librarians. If you choose to enter into the role of librarian, you will likely earn more than 50k a year.
2.) Lawyer
Dating back to ancient times, the first lawyers were most likely the orators of ancient Athens. These people practiced within a legal profession and used their skills to shape the future of their governments. There is no confirmation as to who the very first lawyer was, but lawyers are thought to have been in existence for more than five million years. According to Charles Darwin, the Esquire theorizes that tribe lawyers came into existence about 2.5 million years ago. Still yet, there is an abundance of lawyers needed in today’s society, and with your degree in history as well as the right certifications you can easily establish yourself as a successful attorney.
3.) Marketing Specialist
As you earn a degree in marketing, you probably aren’t thinking of using your credential to establish a career within the marketing industry. Truth is, though, history majors make for some of the most successful marketing specialists in today’s society. Why is this? Because history majors have a keen eye for analyzing and researching information, which is essential in being able to create effective marketing strategies. Marketing has been around for thousands of year and has always been a great career field to enter into.
4.) Anthropologist
An anthropologist spends his or her time engaged within the field of practicing anthropology, which involves studying humans within past and present societies. There are three basic forms of anthropology:
- Social
- Cultural
- Linguistic
You can use your degree in history to establish a career in any of the three forms of anthropology listed above. If you choose to go into historical anthropology, you will use your skills to apply methodologies and objectives within social and cultural anthropology so that you can acquire a keen sense of historical societies. Many historical anthropologists go on to write their books. Going into this line of work will likely earn you upward of $60k a year.
5.) Writer
It was around 2600 BC that cuneiform writing begin to take on a representation of syllables, also known as the Sumerian language. Ever since then the world has seen its fair share of writers. Most people know how to write to some degree, but very few actually know how to convey what they want to say in a way that is easy to understand. There is a huge job market for writers, and with a degree in history you will find it fairly easy to land a job as a writer. You can even freelance if you want, or if you prefer, you can gain employment through an actual employer, like the owner of a magazine company. As a writer you can literally make however much money you want. Just remember, the more experience you have, the better your pay will be because the better your writing will be.
The Takeaway
As you can see, you can go in just about any direction that you want with a degree in history. There is no need to think that you have to stay a generalized career path because history majors are needed within all industries. The important thing for you to do is to find your passion and use it interconnectedly with your history degree.
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